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42 Neon Bits of ‘80s Trivia That Are All Vying for A Spot in the Brat Pack

We want our MTV, but not as much as we want these facts!

42 Neon Bits of ‘80s Trivia That Are All Vying for A Spot in the Brat Pack

November 04, 2024

You can just hear those synths and computery drum beats now, can’t you? And hey, since MTV premiered in 1981, you can see them too!

Yep, watching people in strange attire tap on their strange keyboards with even stranger hairdos was quite riveting. When we got our musical fill, we could dip on over to He-Man, Transformers, Ghostbusters or these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle things. The Lean Cuisines were hot, and the wars were cold — just the way we like ‘em.

Here, check it all out now...

42

Thriller

Michael Jackson's THRILLER is so much more than a music video. In December 1983, the 13-minute short film was solely responsible for increasing MTV's ratings tenfold. It is the only music video to be inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for being culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. CRACKED — Source

41

Apple

Apple wanted to make the iPhone back in the '80s. CRACKED.COM The first design of the iPhone was made back as far as 1983, which looks more like the iPad, but with an actual phone attached. — Source

40

Tron

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES Tron PAC-MAN IS JUST HANGING THERE. In a close-up on a screen filled with circuits, we can see the dot-munching Pac-Man munch on some dots, doing his thing. CRACKED.COM — Source

39

The Goonies

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES The Goonies SLOTH WAS AN ACTUAL OAKLAND RAIDER. Sloth wearing an Raiders t-shirt was a cheeky reference to the fact that Sloth's actor, John Matuszak, was a defensive end for the team from 1976 to 1982. CRACKED.COM — Source

38

Jerry Falwell

A man in the '80s programmed his Atari computer to make thousands of calls to Jerry Falwell. CRACKED.COM The calls to Falwell's toll-free number would hang up and call again, every 30 seconds, amounting to over $500,000 in phone bills to Falwell's organization. — Source

37

Beetlejuice

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES Beetlejuice JACK SKELLINGTON IS HERE. Tim Burton came up with Jack way back in 1982, so it's no big surprise that he appears at the top of Beetlejuice's carnival hat. CRACKED.COM — Source

36

Phoebe Cates

PHOEBE CATES FAST TIMES CRACKED.COM After several big '80s roles and being best known for her nude scenes, Cates left show business to raise her children. She now operates Blue Tree, an Upper East Side boutique. — Source

35

Sports Cards

Collectible Bubbles B Jo ESPAS 00 ZEPTS Sports has cards - The worth of a lot of collectibles from the '80s and '90s, like sports cards, has gone way down since it was at its highest in the early '90s. So much for pop culture ephemera as investment vehicles. CRACKED — Divina Epiphania/Shutterstock
IndoorGameBunker

34

John Hughes

CRACKED JOHN HUGHES WROTE SCREENPLAYS AS EDMOND DANTES. Known for '80s teen hits like The Breakfast Club and 16 Candles, he also wrote Maid in Manhattan starring J-Lo, and all of the Beethoven movies. Edmond Dante is the main character in Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. — Bustle / IMDB

33

Bart

CRACKED BART SIMPSON Jingle Bells/Batman smells/Robin laid an egg/The Batmobile broke its wheel/The Joker got away. THE SIMPSONS If you were a kid in the late '80s and early '90s, you were 100% singing this song. — Mental Floss / IMDB

32

AC/DC

Cringey lyrics from the '80s AC/DC Let Me Put My Love Into You Don't you struggle. Don' 't you fight. Don't you worry. 'Cause it's your turn tonight. If the title of the song wasn't cringey enough, they really doubled down with a good ol' take on consent in the '80s. CRACKED — AC/DC/YouTube,
Genius

31

Wayne Gretzky

CRACKED WAYNE GRETZKY'S '80S WERE RECORD-BREAKING. Wayne Gretzky dominated the NHL in the 1980s, setting records for most points (2,857) and goals scored (894). HOWE 1850 — NHL

30

Tobacco Gum

Tobacco Gum GRACKED.COM The '80s were a wild time for the chewing gum business, which also insisted on announcing Have some practice chaw, kids! with the introduction of Big League Chew in 1980. The shredded strands of stickiness looked just like that weird-smelling stuff all their favorite baseball players and least-favorite uncle were always chewing. — Big League Chew

29

‘Light’ Drinks

Light Drinks 2016 Diet Diet Diet Diet Diet Coke Coke Coke Coke Coke - CRACKED.COM The success of Diet Coke in 1982 per- haps led the company to fly too close to the sun. It kicked off a whole slew of light drinks, like Crystal Light and Bud Light, in response to the burgeoning health craze. Sure, they're not actually much better for you than their non-diet counter- parts, but you can't blame people for being desperate. Those leotards were not forgiving. — USA Today

28

Lean Cuisine

Lean Cuisine GRACKED COM Likewise, Stouffer's launched their line of healthy frozen dinners in 1981, and within two years, Lean Cui- sine was so popular that grocery stores frequently ran out. It's not clear whether this was because a tiny squirt of reconstituted potatoes and a fistful of salt are so unsatisfy- ing that you had to eat five at a time or people actually liked them. — Vox

27

Prince

Prince CRACKED.COM Throughout the '80s and '90s, Prince always turned down Yankov- ic's pitches, including a parody of Purple Rain called Yellow Snow and one of Let's Go Crazy about the Beverly Hillbillies. Until Prince became a casualty of 2016, Yankov- ic approached him every few years see if he's lightened up. — People

26

The Shining

'80S HORROR CLASSICS THE SHINING THE MOVIE WAS UP FOR SEVERAL RAZZIES, SOMEHOW. Stanley Kubrick was nominated for Worst Director during the very first Razzie Awards. Shelley Duvall up for Worst Actress, but this was rescinded in 2022 due to her abusive treatment by Kubrick. CRACKED.COM — Source: Wikipedia

25

E.T.

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES E.T. the Extra Terrestrial E.T. RECOGNIZES YODA Yoda looking familiar to E.T. would be confirmed when his species appeared in The Phantom Menace. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Domestika, Wookieepedia

24

Coming to America

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES Coming to America АКЕЕМ GIVES MONEY TO THE DUKE BROTHERS. The two homeless old men who benefit from the prince's charity turn out to be Randolph and Mortimer Duke, the villainous rich stock brokers that became penniless. Trading Places CRACKED.COM — Source: Den of Geek

23

A Nightmare on Elm Street

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES A Nightmare On Elm Street NANCY WATCHES EVIL DEAD. As Nancy nods off, Evil Dead is on the TV. Probably won't help with her killer dream problem. CRACKED.COM — Source: Retro Crunch/YouTube

22

The Goonies

EASTER EGGS IN '80S MOVIES The Goonies JAKE FRATTELLI WEARS INDIANA JONES' ACTUAL HAT. If you think the guy was trying to look like Indiana Jones, you're right. Steven Spielberg took the hat from Raiders of the Lost Ark and had him wear it. CRACKED.COM — Source: Screen Rant

21

The Hulk

It's a wonder we didn't have an Avengers TV show in the '80S. The Incredible Hulk was the most successful, but Captain America, Thor, and Doctor Strange all had their own abortive TV attempts. CRACKED.COM — Source: Screen Rant

20

Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson

CRACKED.COM Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson were a couple in the '80S. Their child would be the most talented actor in the universe. However, their union was not to be. — Source: Vanity Fair

19

Turner & Hooch

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM TURNER & HOOCH (1989) A DETECTIVE ADOPTS THE ONLY WITNESS TO A BRUTAL MURDER: THE VICTIM'S SLOBBERING BEAST OF A DOG. WHY IT WORKS: Where would we be without the bizarre, animal team-ups from the '80s? Tom Hanks shows off his skills acting against non-verbal costars, a decade before Cast Away.

18

Dinosaurs

The popularity of the death by meteor theory of dinosaur extinction is new. Other ideas include a ton of volcanic eruptions, or a similar worldwide catastrophe - but the meteor thing emerged as the leading theory in the '80s. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Pepper Spray

CRACKED.COM THE DEVELOPER OF WEAPONS-GRADE PEPPER SPRAY SPOKE OUT AGAINST ITS USE ON OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTERS. Kamran Loghman, who developed pepper spray with the FBI in the '80s, decries its use on people who have an opinion. — Inventors Who Can't Stand Their Own Creations

16

Computers

Computers, the terror of the '80s. People were afraid of computers to the point that they refused to touch or talk about the machines. CRACKED.COM — The 16 Dumbest Ways People Freaked Over New Tech

15

Gremlins

Gremlins Gremlins have at least one thing in common with that other '80s classic, Back to the Future. 16 PACALE nens The town of Kingston Falls and the town of Hill Valley were essentially the same set over at Universal Studios' Backlot. CRACKED.COM — Source: Republic World

14

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais was an 80s pop star. He was part of the duo Seona Dancing and their song More to Lose was a one-hit wonder in the Philippines. CRACKED.COM — Source: Time Magazine

13

Darth Vader

THE DARTH VADER GARGOYLE AT THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL During the '80s the Cathedral held a design-a-carving competition for kids, with the third place winner entering the Darth Vader grotesque. These grotesques help deflect rainwater away from the stone walls by bouncing it off the heads and edges. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Cathedral.org, Extreme Craft

12

RoboCop

The police station from RoboCop is actually a concert hall in Dallas in real life. The exact address is Sons of Herman Hall, 3414 Elm St., but it looks 100% unrecognizable without the quasi-futuristic '80s police gadgets. CRACKED.COM — Source: Dallas Film Commission

11

Ewoks

In the '80s, Ewoks had their own kid-friendly cartoon (called, well, Ewoks). In it, Ewoks spoke English (presumably to make them slightly more endearing to kids). The show didn't last longer than a year, though. CRACKED.COM — Source: Digital Spy

10

Archie

ARCHIE WAS RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA AT ONE POINT. Back in the '70s and '80s, long before Riverdale made Archie and Jughead cool again, Archie Comics licensed their characters to a Christian publisher. That's how we got plots — More: 5 Famous Characters The World Saw Differently 20 Years Ago

9

Watchmen

42 Neon Bits of ‘80s Trivia That Are All Vying for A Spot in the Brat Pack — Source: Entertainment Weekly

8

The Beastie Boys

42 Neon Bits of ‘80s Trivia That Are All Vying for A Spot in the Brat Pack

7

John Travolta

John Travolta's passion cost him a major role in the '80s. AAN The studio wanted him to do An Officer. and a Gentleman, but he chose to study aviation

6

National Lampoon’s Vacation

LAMPRON'S Clark Griswold VACATON dragging a dog to his CRAI death... is fully played for laughs in the '80s' John Hughes classic. Clark can barely con

5

Avatar

4

Burt Reynolds

During the '80s, the NATIONAL ENQUIRER used to display The world's tallest Christmas tree in Lantana, Florida. Because of a constant battle going on

3

Frank Zappa

The song Valley Girl perfectly captured' '80s slang. That slang was rnade up on the spot as an insult. The spoken parts of the song were improvised

2

Leo and Me

Leo and Me was a short-lived '80s Canadian sitcom. And four people involved with the show have been diagnosed with Parkinson's. The most famous former

1

Scrabble

Scrabble is a pretty tame word game. E SLLM It was banned in Romania in the '80s. President Nicolae Ceausescu banned the letter tile game for being o

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